Take care right now
If there’s one thing I’ve learnt from health coaching, it’s that everyone gets derailed from their goals at some point. Me included!
Just when I think all is going well – my cycling training is going well, everyone is eating well, no one is sick…. BAM! Something comes out of left field to throw the whole thing into chaos.
It really annoys me when it happens in my life. Really, really does. And it happens. All. The. Time.
The easy thing to do is blame yourself, thinking, “What’s wrong with me? Why can’t I do this?” But the simple truth is that life is not predictable (thanks Mother Nature for that recent reminder) and things won’t always go neatly to plan.
It’s a trend I’ve noticed with clients. The first few weeks go swimmingly well. There’s tons of motivation and this strong desire to be better this time. And then (wait for it) BAM! Something comes out of left field to throw the whole thing into chaos.
When it happens, the first thing I do is encourage clients to refer to their self-care list. Everyone should have one.
A self-care list is a list of activities you can do to make yourself feel good. The self-care activities are simple and don’t cost much (at best – they’re free) and they give you that sense of escape, or calm, or you feel nourished doing them.
The top of my list would be climbing into a freshly made bed with a great book. Back in the day, it used to be escaping to the now-defunct Borders book store for a morning. Heaven.
Taking time out for self-care is really, really important. It helps us cope with daily stressors, and gives us the ability to continue living a healthy, happy life even when it’s all gone pear-shaped.
We’ve created a template you can use to create your own list. Refer to it whenever you need it (and it doesn’t just have to be when things are bad).
Take care of yourself right now and complete the list:
